A Splish, A Splash, A Snake in the Grass Done

Interacting with @Rose Moon

"Ready...Set...Go!"

He launched himself off from a rock that he felt under his feet, before plunging underwater. He liked swimming underwater most of all, there was something about being fully immersed which was appealing to him. He kicked his legs and pulled himself through the water. He felt like he was going fast, but a quick reemergence made him notice that Rose was actually pretty far ahead of him. This caused his competitive nature to kick in as he tried to tread the water as fast as he could, but he was quickly losing steam. It seemed that deciding to go underwater wasn't as effective as he thought...

Eyre floated on his back now that his muscles were tired, doing a lazy backstroke until he bumped into Rose who had beat him fair and square. He laughed, a little out of breath, grabbing onto the side of the dock and pulling himself onto it, sitting down.

"You beat me..." He said with a goofy smile, wiping the water out of his eyes with his shoulder. He wasn't one to tire easily, but overworking and trying to win the race had gotten him tuckered out. He figured that he'd sit on the dock for a while to catch his breath. Rose could swim and revel in her victory while he was waiting, and then he'd hop back in.

That is, until his eye caught something in the middle of the water.

There was something coming near them, it's little head poking out from under the water. It was rippling the water as it moved in a zig-zag pattern, it's skinny body floating like a live pool noodle.

It was a water snake.

Eyre's flight or fight kicked in. His heart began to pound, and suddenly he'd found himself unable to move as he saw the snake coming towards Rose. He wasn't sure what to do, so he extended both of his arms towards her, his eyes pleading with her to take them, to do something, anything.

"Rose, get out of the water." He said, his eyes flashing between the snake and his friend who wasn't sure of what was going on. "Quick!"

Rose surprisingly beat Eyre in the race. He seemed tired and Rose kinda felt bad for beating him like that. She shouldn't have assumed he was such a good swimmer. Rose had read about swimming, she found it really fun. Pushing herself to a place she could stand with her head and shoulders above the water. She was breathing hard, she had really tried to beat Eyre and it turned out she could have been a little more lax with trying to beat him. "It's um..." Rose panted. "You swim faster nearer the surface." she suggested, hoping she wasn't lecturing her or that he let her win.
What if he had let her win?
It was very possible, after all.
After resting for a few seconds, Eyre seemed to panic, telling Rose to get out of the water, quick. A look of confusion passed over her face as Rose only had a split second of hesitation before she made the decision to trust Eyre. If she did, what was the worst thing that could happen? Plus, she did trust Eyre.
The water splashed up as she reached out her hands to Eyre's and gripped his forearms, her hands slipping down to his wrists. It sent fireworks up her arms, but this was no time to think about how she was touching him. Rose awkwardly scrambled up onto the dock.
Rose spied the water snake. It had been coming right toward her and Eyre had told her to get up there quick.
One hand still on his forearm, she pulled him back away from the edge.
The uncertainty and tension crackling in the air stopped Rose from noticing she was still touching him. "Thank you," she whispered, barely loud enough for Eyre to hear. She doubted the water snake could have killed her, but it might have hurt her, still.

Interacting with @Rose Moon

Talent: Parselmouth

Rose decided to heed his warning, and he was able to help get her out of the water and onto the dock. She, too, had grabbed him to get him away from the water, her hand resting on his forearm. Eyre was still panicking, but at least Rose was safe. She had thanked him in a hoarse whisper, which fell upon deaf ears. His wide blue eyes were still focused on the snake that seemed to not have any plan of stopping.

The snake started to threaten to breech the gap between the water and the dock, hunting the two of them like prey. Out of pure instinct, he grasped Rose's hand, holding it tightly as his body was still tensed, trying to figure out what to do. When he decided that the snake was going to try to approach them, he stood up, taking Rose with him.

He backed up as the snake slithered onto the land in a threatening posture. As he stood there, Rose's hand still in his, he began to wonder how this had happened. They must've disturbed a nest. He'd never had a problem with the lake before.. why was it a problem now?! Moments like this made his summer feel particularly cursed. He could never get a break, could he?

As it came closer and closer, a sudden instinct kicked in. It was something deep inside of him that he couldn't explain, but he found himself acting on it before he was able to even process what he was doing.

"Leave us alone!"

Eyre hissed to the snake in a language that he himself didn't recognize, which made the snake immediately stop moving. The creature seemed to look at him as if it was bewildered. "Scram!" He growled, pointing angrily with his free hand towards the depths of the lake. Although it was a warm day, he felt his face grow cold as he heard the snake reply.

"...Of course... My apologies." The snake's tone of voice was baffled as it slithered back into the water as fast as it could without another word. The moment that he disappeared from beneath the surface, Eyre could feel his heart start to pound even harder from the extra ounce of adrenaline.

...What the hell just happened?

OOC: I'm not entirely sure if water snakes are particularly threatening, but... I guess this one is!

Rose was telling herself to breathe.
Breathe.
Breathe.
If she didn't, she might have forgotten. Eyre's hand slipped down to hers, which would have sent electricity buzzing in her hand if her entire body wasn't numb. She was trying not to panic, which would be her first response to this situation. Normally, a snake wouldn't faze her like this. But normally, snakes didn't run after people like this, like they were trying to hurt them or something. That was the part that freaked Rose out.
Then Eyre let out a series of hisses. Rose didn't believe it. She didn't want to. Every muscle in her body tensed, Rose froze, and forgot all about breathing. He hissed at the snake again. The snake, strangely, had a bewildered look on its face as it seemed to respond and slither away. Rose's eyebrows were perched high on her forehead, and her mouth was gaping open.
Eyre seemed as surprised as she was. Rose swallowed, still immersed completely in the ice-cold sea of shock.
"You're a Parselmouth," she whispered. She hadn't known he could speak French, but Parseltounge was a different story. A wide grin grew on her face. "You're a Parselmouth!" she said in her normal volume, carrying a tone of awe. "Eyre, that's amazing! That is so cool!" Rose then hugged Eyre. The hug was brief, but Rose noticed every point of contact it brought to her. Once she pulled apart from him, said with a smirk, "I guess we're even now." She rubbed her hand, as it was tingling and crackling with electricity. Pushing a stray baby hair back from her face, she held her hands in front of her stomach, floating there. She wondered what his reaction would be- horrified? Excited, like Rose? A mix?

Extra/Outfit

Interacting with @Rose Moon

Eyre basically could process it when she hugged him, his arms hanging limp at his sides. He didn't know what to make of the moment. He had doubted everything about his magical ability prior to that moment, being told by his sisters through hushed voices that it was a fluke and that he likely wasn't going to amount to much. But, that moment had cemented his worthiness in his head. Why did a confirming moment like this have to be so scary?

Probably because it was a dark splotch on his character in the eyes of his family. He'd remembered his grandparents talking about how they were pleased that none of their blood had inherited a trait as evil as that one, while Eyre had sat nearby, not even knowing that it applied to him. He wondered how it was possible, this sudden emergence of talent. He felt in his chest pulsating excitement, but also deep dread.

"I guess we're even now." Rose said, which helped him ground himself to reality. He blinked, then laughed. There was a untouched nervousness in his laugh, but it was true. He'd saved the two of them. He sat down on the ground, leaning over to grab his shirt + pull it over his head. He put his palms over his eyes, rubbing them to get the water out of them before patting the ground gently, gesturing for her to sit.

"I don't even know where that came from..." He met eyes with her, an apologetic smile on his lips. "I feel so weird now. Like I don't even know myself as well as I thought." He confessed, trailing off. "...You don't think it's strange? O-Or scary?" The vulnerability bubbled out from under him. She'd already seen a part of him that he'd never even imagined that she'd see, or would be able to see, so there was no use having any sort of emotional boundaries. "I really like you, Rose. I don't want to mess anything up between the two of us." The confession came out easier than he'd anticipated. Eyre's eyes fluttered away from hers, his face turning red. He'd probably made things worse.

Rose tried to keep her breaths still as she realized how numb Eyre was at the realization. He nervously laughed.
Between two blinks, Rose's eyes turned very concerned, but she wiped all doubts off of her face.
Rose sat next to Eyre, facing him a little. His expression was apologetic, as if he had done something wrong.
"...You don't think it's strange? O-Or scary?"
Rose shook her head, slower at first. "Parseltounge?" she smiled at the thought, about to share her deep opinions with him. "Parselmouths, like other things... they get a bad rap. And I hate it. Parselmouths, they have this amazing ability to talk to snakes, and all people can say about it is that it's evil. That you must be evil if you're a Parselmouth. And I can't imagine that would be true..." she almost didn't add this last part, but it came out anyway. "Especially if you're one."
She paused, studying Eyre. He looked... scared, almost. Like he was lost in the woods.
Rose could only imagine how he felt, suddenly figuring out an extra part of himself that he never knew about. One that was known to be evil.
A wave of shock went though her as Eyre said he really liked her. She breathed in a shaky breath, not sure how to reply. How was she supposed to react to this? She knew he hadn't meant to jump it on her like that. Rose wasn't sure whether he meant that he liked her as a friend, or...
More than that?
But she blurted, "I really like you, too." Her posture melted. She then caught herself, and said, "What-what do you mean by that? Like, as a friend, or... romantically?"
'Okay, I do have a crush on him, and no matter what he says, nothing will change that... though I might lie to him...'
"I would never want to mess anything up between us, either, and I don't see why having an awesome skill would change that," Rose's eyes were fond, encouranging.
She really meant it.

Interacting with @Rose Moon

At a time where he was shaking in his boots, Rose once again proved to be the kind of person that wanted to build him back up, to tell him that it was alright and to get him back on his feet again. She'd been the most encouraging person on his side in the past three months, and her reassurance even when he was faced with this weird discovery made him feel much better.

It was probably why he liked her so much, and how he was starting to catch feelings. He thought that Ana was the only one that he had a strong crush on, but then Rose came into his life and spun it onto his head. Not only that, but Rose was there for him when Ana wasn't. This only helped to strengthen it, to make him feel like he could see himself falling for her.

"I really like you, too." He gulped when she said this, his face flushing a little dark. "What-what do you mean by that? Like, as a friend, or... romantically?...I would never want to mess anything up between us, either, and I don't see why having an awesome skill would change that."

And, as expected, she fully and completely accepted him. This made what he was about to say a bit easier, but it didn't compensate for how nervous he was. It was clear that Rose was, too, the way that she was holding herself. He figured that it was just like getting into cold water. He had to jump into it, no hesitation.

"...Romantically." Eyre felt himself becoming tongue tied. He was about as scared as he was about the snake, but in a different sort of way. A vulnerable sort of way that he'd never experienced before. "I mean, you're literally one of the kindest and selfless people that I've met..." Eyre began to ramble, his eyes looking down at the ground as he spoke, fumbling with his fingers.

He took a deep breath, a laugh playing in his tone to help lighten the awkward mood as he complimented her. "You're just beautiful, Rose. Inside and out. And it's hard to find people like that in a world full of Rheas and Alexei's and Selenes." The last bit of his spiel came out in a soft trail of words, each of them as genuine as the last.

"...I dunno, I feel like we make a good pair, you and I... What do you think?" Her silence before she responded to him felt like an eternity. He looked back up at her to gauge her reaction, his pulse still beating wildly and his blue eyes twinkling in the sun. Even if he didn't get the reaction that he was wanting, he was sure that he'd never forget this moment.

Rose couldn't breathe, her chest tightening up as Eyre answered her question, and even in the way she wanted him to.
Romantically.
That word scared her a little. She had heard too many stories about brutal breakups, betrayals, and sometimes even deaths. She didn't want her heart to get broken... of course, Eyre would never do it on purpose, but what if he developed a crush for someone else? What if...
There were so many what ifs, and Rose was scared. So scared.
Then Eyre started talking about how sweet she was, how he thought she was beautiful.
Rose felt heat flood her face.
Beautiful. Rose had never believed it when people called her beautiful, and always wanted to cut them off and start telling them her deepest, darkest flaws. She was haunted by demons of anxiety and imperfection. They never left her, whispering in her ear that she wasn't good enough, that she would never be good enough. And she had always heard compliments from her family and friends, but hearing it from Eyre, her possibly future boyfriend, it made it feel real. Realer than others' compliments or positive comments.
Beautiful.
And it hit her that... that part wasn't important to him. He was talking about her personality, not her beauty. Her beauty was just a plus for him.
Then he asked her out. Said they would be a good pair.
Rose had not been expecting this, and it caught her off guard. She was expecting it a little, but not really. They both liked each other, the next step was dating.
Dating. That word scared her too.
But what's life without risks?
Rose wiped her eye, which had recently collected some water- that was strange. Oh, how she must really like Eyre.
Rose never cries. Especially not in front of other people. Unless it's so big that she really doesn't care.
Nodding frantically, Rose replied, "Yes... yes, we should, we do."
Beaming from ear to ear, her eyes shining, she added, "You aren't too bad yourself, you know. You're..."
oh, where to start?
"So sweet, I just," she met his blue gaze. "You grew up the least favorite, with the least attention, and you still, you're still so wonderful."
She wiped her eye again. 'Don't cry, don't cry."'
"You're rally cute, too." Rose laughed at herself. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just true."
She had high hopes for this relationship.
Just to make sure, she said, "So... this is definite, this is official?"
"My first boyfriend," she said to herself, a slightly dreamy look in her eye.

Reducio

OOC Suggestion:This would be a good time for someone to call them in for dinner or something. Idk if it's been that long, but eh we can pretend~

Interacting with @Rose Moon

A wave of relief washed over him when she said that she felt the same way. He noticed that she was starting to cry, and he started to tear up too. Not just out of sympathy, but because of his own pent up emotions. He hoped that he didn't have to cry in front of her...

Then, she started to compliment him.

Eyre wasn't used to compliments very much. He was the type of person that had the tendency to be overlooked, regardless of how much of a stand-up guy he was. When she mentioned his family and how he still shone through the stupidity of their blatant favoritism, that's when the tears finally poured down his cheeks like a dam that'd been broken. He let out a little huff, sniffling pathetically. It was good to be appreciated, for once.

He wiped them from his face with the neckline of his shirt, laughing at her compliment. By the time that she asked him if he was official he had composed himself enough to nod.

"...It's official." Eyre said, a tiny smile quirking up at his lips. His eyes glanced down to her hand resting on the grass and, without hesitation, he gently placed his on top of hers, giving her fingers a light squeeze. He, too, was excited to see how this would go. It was worth a shot, especially if he was able to have someone as good-hearted as Rose as his first girlfriend. He felt genuinely happy, like he was suddenly invincible.

As he looked back up at her, a loud call from the back of the Manor broke their hands apart, his head whipping around to see his sister Gemma standing there at the back door with an amused expression.

"Eyre!" She called in sing song, a grin on her face. "It's time for you and your little girlfriend to have dinner!"

He gave her a mortified look, making the girl laugh as she turned around to go back inside. Even though he admired Gemma out of all of his other sisters, she was probably more embarrassing than his mom.

"We should go inside..." He told her, standing up from the grass and helping her up from the ground. Their hands were clasped together for an extra moment or two before Eyre let go of his grasp. He winked at her, a grin stretching across his face.

"I'll race you to the Manor!" Eyre taunted, bounding backwards as he looked at her. "Just because we're dating now doesn't mean that I'll take it easy on you!" He called, giggling like a child before getting a head start through the garden. Maybe his summer was going to finally start turning itself around, and he had Rose to thank for that.

OOC: If you want, we can end here + hop back on owls to come up with a new thread! Maybe we can do the lake one you wanted to do, or something else? :-) I'll owl ya!

Eyre was brought to tears at her compliments. She laid a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it in comfort. "I mean it," she added.
And it was official. Her first boyfriend. He was a promising one. Her mom had said she did not marry her first boyfriend, that she was transferred to Hogwarts and they broke up on good terms as to not strain their relationship.
Rose hoped she would not be moving to Illvermorny anytime soon, because she really liked Eyre. Before now, she hadn't considered how heartbroken her mom must have been when she had to leave.
Heartbroken. Only a wisp of that fear remained in her mind, for happiness was pouring into her, swifter and faster than ever before. When Eyre reached for her hand, she reached back, their hands connecting. She gave him a little squeeze back and was very very aware of it, In a matter of seconds, the only feeling she could grasp was happiness, it was like pure sunlight shining through her. In that moment, her demons didn't exist.
Just her and Eyre and the happiness crackling between them.
She decided that, at least for now, she would ignore any fear she had about him leaving her and enjoy it.
And she was enjoying it.
"Eyre! It's time for you and your little girlfriend to have dinner!" Rose jumped, she wasn't paying attention. Her face flushed, and her first thought was that one of his sisters was spying on them. But then it occured to her that she was probably just teasing them.
Eyre challenged her to a race. She guessed that she would change out of her swimsuit inside. She got up, grabbed her bag, and, laughing, she chased him to his house, feeling like she was flying.